


surviving is a virtue

by sunkelles



Category: RWBY
Genre: Current Summer/Tai, F/F, Gen, Grimm! Summer Rose, Morally Grey Protagonist, POV Raven Branwen, Past Raven/Summer/Tai, Raven Branwen Makes Bad Choices, Summer Rose (RWBY) Lives, The Branwen Tribe (RWBY)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-21
Updated: 2021-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-27 18:42:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30127197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunkelles/pseuds/sunkelles
Summary: After leaving her family, Raven's doing just fine. Really. She's living it up (paycheck to paycheck, hotel room to hotel room) as an independent huntress. When she turns down an offer from Summer to help track down Salem, she doesn't think much of it. At least until she feels terror coming through her bond with Summer more potent than she's ever felt before.Because Summer has finally tracked down Salem, and the Queen of the Grimm has plans.
Relationships: Raven Branwen/Summer Rose, Raven Branwen/Summer Rose/Taiyang Xiao Long
Kudos: 15





	surviving is a virtue

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. probably not for you if you think Raven Did Nothing Wrong TM. this might be in her pov but it's not kind to her. this is raven makes bad choices the fic  
> 2\. using hatred of sand for a "this character makes bad choices" shorthand is what anakin skywalker stans do best y'all  
> 3\. vaguely inspired by this textpost but power bottom blake on tumblr https://powerbottomblake.tumblr.com/post/642672982755540992/ok-so-we-know-that-around-marias-prime-killers

Raven hates sand. Tai and Summer might tease her about having too strong of feelings about something so small, but she still abhors it. She despises every sharp, annoying little particle of the broken rocks.

But now Raven’s living in Vacuo, an entire continent made up of nothing but deserts, with dunes of sand that seem even bigger than some of the mountains in Solitas. Tai would think it’s funny that she’d subject herself to that. Summer would be angry that she decided an entire continent filled with her least favorite material was preferable to staying with her and Tai and the girls. Qrow would take out his flask and chug.

Raven really needs to get better at blocking out those thoughts. She’s not planning on going back, so why should she let thoughts of those two fill her mind? She hasn’t cut Qrow completely out of her life (she finds it harder than she’d like) but she hasn’t seen either Tai or Summer willingly since she left Tai pleading on the doorstep, Summer glaring her down with a crying baby Yang cradled in her arms.

Yang’s halfway through kindergarten now- not that Raven’s thinking about her. (Not that she’s been checking in, just to make sure that the kid’s not gotten herself killed on one of her forest excursions.)

Responsibility feels like a prison, invisible strings tying her down to all these people she doesn’t want to care about with a semblance that means that she could be there whenever her “loved ones” “need her”.

Well, who ever asked Raven if she wanted responsibility? She wasn’t cut out for motherhood. Or wifehood. Or partnerhood. Tai and Summer will be fine without her, and Yang will grow up stronger for her absence. In the meantime, Raven will keep working out what she wants here, in Vacuo, among all the fucking sand.

She unsheaths her sword, slashing through the sand snake Grimm with a single stroke. The head falls to the ground. She smiles down at the severed head for a moment, but then she feels the earth beneath her feet tremble.

She looks forward, and sees fissures open up in the sand. Then, an enormous Grimm snake erupts out of the ground like a volcano- hissing up a storm and nearly blocking out the sun.

“Oh,” Raven says. She feels her body go slack in shock, and feels her sword start to slip out of her hand. She reaches down and grabs it tightly to make sure it doesn’t clatter to the ground.

Then, the super-snake opens its mouth and green liquid spatters out to the side. The liquid hisses and oozes, seeping into the sand and visibly melting the particles.

Raven never thought that she’d be _upset_ to see sand destroyed.

She draws her sword, holding it out in front of her protectively. The snake opens its gaping maw, teeth as big as her sword peaking out of the front of its mouth. Its jaw unhinges far enough that it could swallow her whole. Or chew her to shreds with its teeth. Or dissolve her with acid.

Yeah. This is NOT worth the bounty. Maybe a few desert peasants end up picked off by this thing, but who cares? As long as it’s not her, Raven thinks she can live with herself.

At least she’ll be _alive_.

She dodges another round of acid, hearing a hissing noise on her shoulder. She glances behind her and sees exactly what that sound meant: the acid ate through her shoulder pad.

Yeah, she needs to get out of here NOW.

She checks her links tentatively. Tai's feels secure, which means he’s probably at home. Qrow’s feels hazy, which means he’s drop dead drunk somewhere. The one to the tribe feels the same as always: secure and intimidating. The one to Yang feels angry, which normally means someone has pissed her off. And then Summer’s- well. Summer’s feels _close_.

And determined.

Raven considers opening the portal to Qrow so that she can pop in on his drunk ass and won’t even have to talk, but then she spots something out of the corner of her eye.

White fabric against the toffee brown of the sand, cloak enveloping a short human form.

Is that-

“Summer?” Raven asks. The cloaked head turns to face her, red hair peaking out for a moment before Summer’s face turns toward her. She doesn’t even look surprised to see Raven.

“Launch me,” Summer orders.

Summer isn’t her team leader anymore. She’s not her partner, not even really her friend, but it’s hard not to do what she asks. Summer always sounds so _reasonable_. Raven finds herself running over and bending over into a cheerleader lift position. Summer hops onto it, shoes settling easily into Raven’s hands. Then, Raven launches her as high as she can- right onto the Grimm’s back.

The rest of the fight is blurry, the way that fights tend to be, but Raven gets in a few good stabs to the thing’s back while Summer deals the killing blow with _Roseguard_. Summer takes her hand, and they both run as quickly as they can to get behind a sand dune.

The sound of the beast exploding is loud and wet, and the sound of its acid engulfing the dune is like the hissing of a thousand smaller snakes. Once the hissing dies down, Raven moves to collect proof of death.

Summer grabs her by the shoulder, and Raven turns around. It’s a real testament to how much Raven cares about her that she doesn’t just brush off the touch and move to her task anyway.

“What are you doing?” Summer asks, reaching into her pocket for a cloth.

“Getting my trophy,” Raven says, “the bounty on this one’s big.” No one’s going to give her a bounty that big without proof of death. Summer just rolls her eyes as she runs the cloth over the soft, pink leather of _Roseguard’s_ hilt and the gleaming metal of the blade to clean off the gunk of battle.

“Always in it for the money?” Summer asks.

Raven shrugs as she turns around. “Girl’s gotta eat,” she calls back. She goes to collect one of the enormous fangs, and then she tries to shove it in her bag. Even with the size of the duffle, this fang is still too big for Raven to fit. Instead, she decides to just carry it like a sword.

“It’s too big for my bag,” Raven defends.

“Uh huh.” Wow. Summer's already laying on that judgement thick.

“I never asked for your help,” Raven says.

Summer just rolls her eyes. “Like you could have killed that thing without me.”

“I could have escaped,” Raven says.

Summer’s eyes narrow. “You would have just left that thing? To kill other people?” she demands.

Raven shrugs. “Better them than me.”

Summer glares at her. “Classic Raven, always leaving messes for other people to clean up.”

Raven bites her lip, and watches Summer start walking.

She doesn’t follow.

“Are you coming?” Summer asks, turning back to face her. Raven should shake her head. She should clutch her snake fang and walk decidedly in the other direction. Summer and Tai are both in the past, a past that Raven is trying to put entirely behind her.

But it’s always been so hard to say no to Summer, and it’s been five years since she’s gotten to say “yes”. So she follows. Silently, yes, but she follows.

* * *

They make their way towards the town that Raven’s been hanging her head in. By dusk, they’re still a few miles out, so they decide to set up camp. A fire and a tent later, Summer and Raven are sitting on rocks near the campfire, chomping on Raven’s reserve of snacks. The trail mix and dried fruit isn’t great, but it’s enough to make it through the night.

The stars shine brightly, the campfire lights Summer’s face a warm yellow, and Raven thinks that she could almost pretend that they’re back in school on an internship excursion, Tai and Qrow shoved into a different tent than them so that no one has sex.

What a ridiculous notion when they all knew both pairs were in there fucking like bunnies. Raven stifles a giggle, and then looks away awkwardly. Summer sends her a look.

“Just thinking about the last time we shared a tent,” Raven says. Summer looks confused for a moment, and then blushes scarlet. Suddenly remembering another woman’s tongue caressing your clit might do that to you. Summer’s blush subsides, and she turns her chin up- staring at the stars. The warm glow of the fire almost creates a halo around her head.

She sighs. “Things are different now.”

Raven pulls her knees up against her chest. “Yeah, they are.”

Summer looks over, and her look softens for a moment. “What have you been doing?” she asks. Her voice is tight, but it’s not acidic. She’s attempting civility.

Raven chuckles. She expected warfare- not small talk. She hasn’t made small talk in months.

“I’ve been bouncing around a lot, taking little hunting jobs here and there. Vacuo’s just the latest stop.”

“Ah.” And there goes the civility.

“I’m not married to it or anything.” That makes Summer cackle.

Raven stiffens. “What’s so funny?” she demands.

“You’re not _married_ to Vacuo,” Summer sputters, “like you treat marriage with any reverence.” Raven digs her fingernails into her knees.

“It’s a figure of speech,” Raven says.

“Like _til death do us part_?” Summer asks. If Raven were a bird right now, her feathers would puff out defensively.

“Look,” Raven says, tilting her head towards town, “if you want me to leave, I will.”

“Like you weren’t going to the second I fall asleep,” Summer mutters. Raven doesn’t respond, but she doesn’t leave either.

Summer leans forward on her fist, looking deep into the fire. “Why are you still here?” she demands. She doesn’t even look back to gauge Raven’s body language.

“I don’t know.

“ _Are_ you leaving once I fall asleep?” Summer asks.

Raven takes a deep breath. She weighs her options before answering, “Probably.

Summer snorts. “Figures,” she says, “if Yang’s crying hadn’t woken Tai and I up that night, you’d have left without a goodbye.”

“I left a note,” Raven says. No amount of pleading would have made Tai and Summer decide they were okay with her leaving, and no amount of pleading would have kept Raven there. It was easier to just say that she was leaving in a note and let it lie.

“How thoughtful,” Summer says, “leaving your husband and your partner a note that just says “I’m not coming back. Don’t bother looking.” A true hero for the ages.”

“I said I wasn’t good at the commitment thing.” Why Tai decided to propose is beyond her. Summer was a much better candidate for that, even at the time.

“We thought that marriage might help,” Summer sighs.

“Really?” Raven asks, “was the proposal some plot to get me to settle down?” She feels a little anger boil in her chest. She’d thought it was spontaneous- something that solidified she and Tai’s relationship and showed that Summer was okay without the legal ceremony sealing her own relationships.

“I never cared much for the marriage thing, but Tai was really set on the idea. I thought that having something on paper might make _you_ more likely to stick around.”

“Just like you thought the baby would?” Raven asks. Have a baby then everything else would fall into place, right? Perfect mother and partner.

“ _You_ decided to keep Yang,” Summer says. Raven makes a non-committal sound.

Summer just glares. “Tai and I didn’t _baby trap you_.” Raven frowns. Maybe they didn’t, but they were excited about it. They were excited, where Raven had just been terrified. What would she even _do_ with a baby? Maybe she’d fall in love with the little bastard, but maybe she’d just see another burden. Having to care about people is so much work, especially when it feels like you’re doing all the caring yourself.

Even checking in on Yang to make sure the little gremlin hasn’t died feels like too much work.

“I’m allowed to leave,” Raven says. Maybe she stood in front of her friends and family and said some words with Tai. Maybe she made Summer promises. And maybe she spent nine months pregnant to bring Yang into the world… but she doesn’t _owe_ them. If she decides she doesn’t want it anymore, she’s allowed to pack up and leave.

She has no idea what she wants, but right now, she knows it’s not a depressed teacher husband, a huntress partner who’s traipsing around the globe, and a kindergartener and preschooler at home to take care of. Especially not while fighting against some Grimm-Queen, making tiny dents in her army that are patched up in the same day. 

“Maybe,” Summer says, “but we’re allowed to miss you.” Raven feels herself soften for a moment, but then really lets the words settle on her.

_We’re allowed to miss you?_ What a way to frame things.

“You poor thing,” Raven taunts, “missing someone who doesn’t even want to be around you. Woe is Summer Rose.” It feels good for all of two seconds before Raven wishes that she hasn’t said the words. Then, Summer raises her hackles and strikes back.

“You’re worse than Qrow, you know that?” Summer hisses. That one hits like a punch to the gut.

“What?” Raven demands. Qrow’s been running away since they were kids. Raven’s only started now. How could she be _worse_?

“At least _he’s_ convinced himself that he’s bad for us,” Summer says, “you’re just a coward.” Raven just feels anger building, red and hot right in her chest.

“At least I can see the truth,” Raven says, “nothing we’ve ever done has put a dent in those Grimm."

"I'm working on a lead right now," Summer says, hope glinting in her eyes, "we might be able to beat her."

Raven rolls own right back at Summer. "Really? I think we're just fighting off the inevitable. Who cares if you beat a couple monsters and raise a couple kids? The monsters keep coming back and then you die. Then your kids die. Why does it matter?” Frustrated despondency sits heavy on her shoulders, weighing her down. It doesn’t feel like _anything_ matters.

Summer’s eyes harden, soft silver turning to hard steel. “Because _we_ matter, dipshit.” Her eyes stay hard- determined. Raven looks away from the intensity, out into the star-speckled sky instead.

Summer’s voice softens as she says, “We love each other.” Raven doesn’t have anything to say to that. It’s not untrue, but she doesn’t know if that makes it worth it. What makes love matter? It doesn’t keep you safe. It just makes you vulnerable- caught up in caring about another person when you should be caring about yourself.

Even now, Raven finds herself thinking about how she’d keep them both safe if a Grimm sensed their turbulent feelings.

Why can’t she just stop feeling entirely? She thought she’d ripped out her heart and buried it deep within her house, but the damn thing keeps thumping at her through the floorboards.

Well. That doesn’t mean that she has to _listen_ to it. It can thump all it wants; Raven isn’t going to pay it any mind. She doesn’t want to get caught back up in this like some domestic bear trap.

“Maybe _you_ do,” Raven says. It’s not loud, or strong. Her voice quivers, too, like soft strumming on a poorly tuned guitar. But the words are still there. They still cut deep enough to set off Summer’s huff.

“Fine,” she says, “I’m going to bed.” She stomps her feet as she trudges off to her tent. Then she turns back one last time, and her voice sounds tired as she adds, “I don’t expect to see you in the morning.” The moment that Summer is out of sight, Raven starts walking toward town. She’s sure that Summer can hear her footsteps.

But Summer lets her go. That’s a step up from last time.

* * *

Raven doesn’t spare much thought to her encounter with Summer in the next few days. Her former partner is off on some adventure, trying to combat Salem’s inevitable evil with her smile and her sword in hand. It’s no concern of Raven's.

Summer will keep fighting, even if she’s the one last standing- and her smile will stay on her face until the end. It’s about as inevitable as Salem’s forces attacking scared civilians.

  
Most of the time, Summer is safe. She’s a good enough huntress that she almost never pings on Raven’s “I’m in danger” radar. Honestly, Yang’s in danger more often than her huntress mother- every little adventure the kindergartener takes alone in the woods tinging all sorts of alarm bells through Raven’s semblance, to the point where she almost has to mute her connection to her daughter most of the time to ever get any peace of mind.

It’s weeks after their encounter that Raven feels DANGER coming through Summer’s bond, and it’s DANGER in a way that she’s never felt before. This feels like Summer’s fears have come alive and made a monster of their own.

Raven’s portal has booted up before she’s made the conscious decision to go through it. She shifts into a bird, and then flies into the red abyss.

* * *

Normally, when Raven exits her portal, the sky shifts to a different color. Sometimes the sky becomes a bright, soft blue. Sometimes it becomes a navy, even almost black. Sometimes it becomes a canvas of different colors shifting into sunset or sunrise.

She’s never seen the sky a pure red before, but that’s the only color stretching out to the horizon. She glances down and sees a coating of jagged black rock. At the edge of her vision, she sees the black rock abruptly jut down, a cliff-face sinking below the surface. A pair of figures dot the edge of that vision.

Raven keeps flying. The cliff grows closer, and Raven can see that about fifteen feet under the cliff’s edge rests a sea of churning black liquid, moving in a pattern like metal melting in a forge. She spots the back of one figure, bone-white hair done into a pristine bun, with jagged bits of hair coming out the sides. One foot rests firmly on the ground, and the other rests on another body.

Raven flies around the side of the woman, resting her little bird’s feet close to the edge. She catches a better look at the scene. The woman stands far taller than Raven does as a human- imposing, with skin snow white and eyes blood red. Veins of the darkest black weave spiderwebs along her skin.

At the Grimm-Queen’s feet rests a battered and bruised Summer Rose, looking at her with nothing but the purest hatred.

“Would you like to try to kill me again?” the woman asks, amusement in her voice, “it didn’t stick the first twenty times, but you can always try again.” She gestures around to the rocks beside her.

“There are plenty of weapons, Miss Rose,” she says, wry smile on her face, “you can always give it another go. I’ll just come back.” _Come back?_ Raven thinks. Does that mean that Salem is... immortal? That she _can't_ die? Summer doesn't deny the woman's boasts. Instead, she makes the sound of hocking a loogie, and spits at the woman’s feet. It lands far from her leather heels.

She smiles down, and gently kicks at Summer’s stomach, as if checking to see if an animal is still alive.

“Is that all the fight you have left?” she asks, smirking down at Summer. In turn, Summer grabs onto a rock and pulls herself forward. Blood trails behind her like an airplane’s tail. Why is Summer army crawling like she has to stay connected to the sharp, hard ground? Raven glances around her body. She notices that Summer’s legs jut out in odd, uncomfortable looking ways.

Oh shit. Her legs are _broken_.

If there was ever a situation that Summer Rose couldn’t get herself out of, it was this one. Raven should be flying. She should be closing the small gap between herself and Summer, shifting into a human, and sheathing her sword in the Grimm-Queen’s gut.

But Salem just said that Summer had tried- twenty times even. What could _Raven_ do?

Raven sees Summer’s head tilt towards her, and sees her eyes settle on Raven herself. Raven feels a tingle of guilt run up her spine. Summer knows that she’s here. And Summer knows she’s not doing anything.

Salem laughs as her eyes settle on Raven as well. "Would _you_ like to try, little bird?” Raven doesn’t respond. She tries not to move or give any acknowledgement that she understands.

Salem turns her attention to Summer instead. “Your teammate isn't very helpful, is she?”

Summer smirks. “That's just a bird. Do you really think my _teammate_ would just stand there and watch this?” Raven doesn’t know if she should be pissed at Summer for insulting her, or pissed at Summer for protecting her, even now. She always _did_ have a martyr complex.

Salem laughs. “No, I suppose not.” Her eyes trail back to Raven, as if watching for a response. Raven stands firm, frozen in place. 

Salem lifts a foot and pushes it onto Summer’s head. Then, she pushes her back a few feet. Summer digs her hands into the rock, but only leaves a bloody trail along the surface. Summer hits her chin on the ground and leaves a bloody gash underneath as Salem completes her first motion.

Salem takes a few steps forward. She seems to be readjusting her position to push Summer the last few feet. Summer pushes herself up onto her elbows and holds her head high, her silver eyes meeting Salem’s red ones.

“Do you just want to kill me?” Summer asks, “Is that all it is?” Salem holds out a hand questioningly.

“Stalling?” she asks, “do you really think that will help you?”

“I don’t know,” Summer says, “will it?”

“Hm." Salem looks around for a moment, considering the question. "I suppose I can indulge you. No, I don’t just want to kill you. You have those magical silver eyes- remnants from _my_ Ozma’s wasted magic. Magic that should rightfully belong to our children.” Summer’s silver eyes widen. She opens her mouth to question, then she closes it right back. Maybe she doesn’t want to know what comes next.

“I want to see what my Grimm pools turn you into.” The look of terror solidifies on Summer’s face.

“Turn me into?” she asks softly. Salem’s smile turns into something more sinister than before- predatory.

"They turned me into this," she says, waving a hand in front of the monstrous features of her face, "but I have a lot more magic than you do." She smirks as she reaches her foot out to Summer’s head. Whatever she thinks this will do to Summer... well. It's not _good_. Raven feels dread settle in her stomach.

Summer, still on her elbows, grabs at Salem's boot.

“Please,” she begs, “don’t.” Raven has never heard Summer beg.

Salem just grins. “Consider this a…” Raven can’t tell if she’s considering what to say or savoring the pause. “Punishment for being born.” Then, she pushes Summer's legs off the cliff's edge. Summer screams as she claws into the rock.

IForward and forward she goes, until she’s hanging off the edge of the cliff. Raven thinks that Salem is going to reach forward and pluck Summer’s fingers daintily off the edge.

Instead, just simply stomps on Summer’s hand. Summer yelps as she loses hold, and she falls for a few screaming seconds before Raven hears a low splash. At the bottom of the pool, the liquid displaces up about a foot, like Summer has done some underwhelming cannonball into a swimming pool.

Then, her screaming stops. Raven watches over the liquid, wondering if Summer’s just going to drown down there.

A shadow passes over her as she hears four light steps.

“Are you ready for the show, little bird?” she asks. Raven does not look back. She’s afraid that if she does, Salem might decide that she wants _her_ dead, too.

Raven watches as the liquid churns. A head peaks out from the place where Summer’s body fell in. That’s not a human head. It’s much too big, the colors a stark mixing of black and white. Black shadow and white bone, melding over a shape like a wolf. Fangs as big as the blade of Summer's small sword peak out of the front of its mouth.

It paddles forward, black liquid oozing around it. Then, it digs its claws into the cliff face and scales the side. It hurdles over the edge, standing taller than Salem, and sitting down at her side like a laptop dog.

A lapdog as big as a direwolf.

Salem grins. She reaches up towards the Grimm’s head, and gently pets at one of its bone-white ears. The shadows around the appendage wrap around her hand like mist.

“A successful experiment." Raven shivers. "Just one more thing to check.” Then, Salem looks directly at Raven, going as far as to make eye contact.

“Say “hello, Raven”,” the queen orders her Grimm, still petting gently its ears.

“Hello, Raven,” comes Summer’s voice, echoed through a terrible, demonic filter- layers of distorted, discordant static stacked onto that uncomfortable base. Raven lets out a terrified squawk. Salem just laughs.

“Oh,” she asks, mocking in her tone, “did I finally get a reaction from stone-cold Raven Branwen?” Raven feels her breath catch in her little bird chest. Salem, she-

Salem doesn’t move forward to fight her, though. She doesn’t order the Grimm that was once Summer to do so either. She just keeps petting the Grimm’s head like she’s a beloved dog.

“You’re not Ozpin’s pet anymore, are you?” she asks. Raven can’t talk in this form, but she thinks that anything resembling a “yes, I am” would be her death. She shakes her little bird head.

Salem nods. She reaches into a pocket at her hip, and she pulls out a rose-colored sword handle. Raven shouldn’t be surprised that Salem has kept a bit of _Roseguard_ as some messed up trophy, but she is.

Salem tosses it towards Raven like she’s feeding a piece of bread to the ducks. Raven doesn’t launch forward to snatch it the way that she’d like.

Salem gestures towards the remains of the sword with her head. “You can still tell him all that you’ve seen, if you like. Just to let him know that he will fail.” Raven does not plan to do that.

“But don’t forget to tell him that _you_ let it happen,” Salem says, smiling sadistically, “you just sat by as I turned your Rose of Summer into _this_.”

Raven feels her heart constrict in her chest. She’s never going to tell _anyone_ about this. She’s going to try her hardest to forget, and then maybe, one day, she actually will.

Salem looks away, attention all caught on her newest creation.

Raven doesn’t wait a moment to get out of there. She doesn’t want Salem to change her mind. Raven rushes forward to grab the last trace of _Roseguard_ in her mouth. She could portal to Qrow, or to Tai, or even to Yang... but all of those connections are too complicated- emotional. If she ended up in front of any of them right now she might break down crying. No, she needs something devoid of emotions. A strong base that will help harden her heart. 

Raven reaches into a connection that she hasn’t used in a very long time. Instead of portaling to a person, she decides to portal to a place- directly back to the Branwen Tribe.

* * *

The interior of the compound is as drab and dirty as ever. Every eye in the square is opened wide, staring at her. Raven laughs.

“Have you people forgotten what a portal looks like?” Most of the staring eyes look away, if only because they know she’s strong enough to beat them. The kids don’t stop staring, but Raven’s not about to fight _them_ over it.

Then, there’s Mina. One of the other kids who was about the same age as she and Qrow were. Her skin’s dark brown and her hair’s done up in a very large afro. Her arms are crossed over her chest, and she looks about as welcoming as a guard dog.

“Raven.”

“Mina.” The other woman looks away and starts to walk swiftly in that direction. Raven nearly has to run to keep up with her.

“Hey,” she says, “wait up.” Mina does not respond.

“At least talk to me,” Raven says. Mina does not respond.

“Who’s leading nowadays?” Raven asks.

Mina stops then, sending her a confused look. “Why do you care?” she asks cautiously.

“I’m here for a coup,” Raven says.

Mina starts laughing. “You think you can just abandon the tribe? Then come back and take over?”

Raven shrugs. “I can if I’m the best fighter here.”

Mina tries to prove her wrong. She doesn’t. A few other people in the square try to prove her wrong. They don’t. Then, leader’s guard comes to the square to prove her wrong. They don’t. Finally, the leader comes to prove her wrong. He doesn’t either.

None of them have training as high caliber as that of a huntress. It’s not a surprise that Raven can destroy all of them so easily.

The old leader’s second in command looks up at her, his friend’s blood staining his strawberry blond hair.

“You won’t get away with this,” he says, drawing his own weapon. Raven stabs her sword forward, poking through his chest. He coughs up blood in one big, final motion. He falls to the ground dead.

“Any other objections?” she asks, surveying both the living and the dead. No one rises to the challenge.

“Hm. I thought not.”

“I have one,” says a young, female voice.

Raven chuckles. “Do you want to show yourself?”

A young girl with curly black hair, medium brown skin, and dark eyes steps out from behind a much taller person.

“Enfys made us rich!” she demands, “What are you going to do? You _left us_.” There’s a rage in her eyes, matched only by the rage in her voice when she mentions the abandonment. Raven wonders if Yang will sound that enraged one day. She banishes the thought as soon as it’s born.

“I am going to lead this tribe into the future,” Raven says, “there is a threat that no one else knows about- one that could take down the whole world. But if we’re smart, we might be able to weather it.” She doesn’t know how they’ll do that yet, but she knows they can. A whole tribe of bandits if better off against a foe like this than a single woman with a sword and a cloak.

“What kind of threat?” the girl asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

“The Queen of the Grimm,” Raven says boldly. That prompts a roar of laughter.

Raven glares. “I’ve seen her. She’s a more terrifying beast than any of her creatures combined.” Except, maybe, the one that used to be Summer. But Raven doesn’t need mention that one.

The little girl just rolls her eyes. “You’re telling us there’s some magical woman who controls all the Grimm?” Raven realizes that it sounds a bit… over the top. But she also knows that it’s true. If none of them take the threat seriously, this might be the generation of humanity Salem decides to crush. She's is certainly making the moves necessary now.

“Prove it,” a deep voice demands.

“Oh,” Raven says, “you want proof of magic?” A chorus erupts. Raven laughs as she shifts her body into her bird form. The faces change from smug to shocked. She shifts back immediately, black feathers falling around her like snowflakes.

“Any more objections?” she asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

* * *

Raven’s instated as leader of the tribe within a few hours, already formulating her plans for how to fortify them against Salem’s Grimm. She’ll have to figure out a better long-term plan eventually, but for right now, she’s making the progress that she can.

It’s certainly more than she’s ever made before.

Days pass, and Raven starts to settle into a routine. She gets to know the new members of the tribe. She learns her duties as leader, and she plots how she’s going to keep them safe from Salem.

All in all, she feels more useful than she has in years. No one asks about the pink leather hilt that she carries around and picks at like a worry stone, and certainly no one asks about her taking it with her to bed.

When she lies down to sleep, she can always get to sleep soon enough, running her fingers gently along _Roseguard's_ hilt. It’s just staying asleep once the nightmares start that she finds to be a problem. Raven is able to banish the image of the wolfish Grimm from her mind while she’s lying awake, but it won’t stop invading her dreams. And if that weren’t enough for her nightmares, Yang keeps appearing completely unbidden, sometimes with Summer’s little gremlin cowering behind her.

Yang looks up at Raven through her bright blonde bangs and asks, “Where’s my mommy?” and Raven knows that kid's not talking about her.

Raven keeps checking the missing persons board to see if Tai has decided to report Summer. When Raven still lived with them, Summer used to go on hunting trips that would take months, sometimes with weeks where she was incommunicado.

Her face still hasn’t shown up on the boards.

Raven doesn’t let herself carry the guilt of what happened. Summer got herself into that mess, and Raven? Well. She really couldn’t have saved her. Raven versus the Queen of the Grimm? Who would have come out on top?

But. Maybe she owes them an explanation. Or maybe not explanation, but something that could actually help them. She owes them proof of death.

She runs another, soft circle over _Roseguard’s_ leather, and realizes exactly what she needs to cough up to make them believe that. Well, it’s not like she could keep it forever. Better to forget than to hold onto a reminder, even a somewhat pleasant one.

Raven decides to write a letter claiming that she found the hilt of _Roseguard_ in the stomach of a Grimm she killed in Vacuo. She’ll deliver the letter along with the remains of _Roseguard_ to Qrow the next time that she can feel him passed out drunk on the floor.

It takes all of two hours after she finishes the letter for her to feel her brother drop dead drunk on the other end of their connection. Raven slips through her portal, and then she slips the note into his hand, laying _Roseguard’s_ hilt on his chest. Then, she portals right back to the tribe.

Raven might feel bad about the lie if she thought that it weren’t kinder than the truth. Better for them to all think that Summer’s dead than to have them chasing after every Grimm, thinking they can cure it and bring Summer back.

Raven knows better. They can _never_ bring Summer back. There’s no turning back from a change like that, just like there’s no turning back for Raven herself. She’s the woman who left, who watched her partner be turned into a Grimm, and then murdered her way to the top of the Branwen Clan.

It’s not that she would _want_ to go back, it’s just that she knows she can’t even if she did. Even if she were weak enough to want that. This is the only way.

It’s the only place she can carve out some safety from Salem. It’s not saving the world but saving a piece of it. A piece for her, and whoever chooses to follow her. She can keep herself safe for a little longer, maybe even until she dies of old age. Other people can throw themselves into Salem’s never-ending host of bodies.

Maybe even become her unwilling soldiers themselves.

Raven pushes away the thought, and steels herself for what’s to come. There’s so much more to learn- so much more work to do. But at least she’s got a purpose now. Her survival, and that of her tribe. They’ll make their way, no matter what it takes.

Surviving is a virtue, after all. At least it is when you survive in a form you recognize.

Raven’s still not sure that she’s done that, but close enough. Better a bandit queen than a lapdog.

**Author's Note:**

> me, shouting in the distance: MAKE GOOD CHOICES! YOUR FAMILY LOVES YOU!   
> raven, digging her heels in: no! i don't wanna!


End file.
